Loading ...
When I moved from the East Coast to the San Francisco Bay Area—a place full of Victorian homes and people who like to “express themselves”—I discovered that historic home styles are the test of taste. With elaborate details and a history of rich colors, they beg for more—and people seem to be entirely willing to give it to them. Sadly, what most people have to give shouldn’t be on a house.
Historical styles have so many components you can all too easily go overboard with—bright paint palettes, ornate trim, overwrought interiors, fussy wallpaper, “historical” furnishings. You can go big on any one of these elements, but any more than that and “going big” turns into “going overboard” fast.
TOO MUCH
So many choices. So many very bad choices.
I’ve been staring at this building for years–I still can’t fathom the thought process that said “Yes!” to any of this, let alone all of it. This building is the visual equivalent of the crazy guy on the street who screams obscenities at you.
With its simple lines, it could have been clean and classic, even in a bold color, but someone decided it needed MORE. Decorative trim! Candy-cane stripes! Lattice over the windows! Cutout hearts! Weird, shoddily made window caps! And because that’s just NOT ENOUGH, paint the whole thing bright pink! One of these choices could have been overlooked (well, maybe not), but together, they’re an assault on taste and history.
JUST ENOUGH
Over-the-top, not overwrought.
But there are ways of going over the top while still showing restraint, so you end up with something bold but definitely not a horror show. This home profiled in the New York Times is massive, it’s historical, it’s painted completely black, and it’s totally my dream house.
The brilliance of this exterior was going all out along just one axis: saturation. Making one bold choice and stopping. No crazy colors, no contrasting trim, no pink flamingos. By taking the most neutral color possible, completely saturating it, applying it en masse, and doing nothing else, the owners balanced boldness and simplicity. It’s completely brilliant and totally gorgeous—all because they went big on one thing, and said no to anything more.
Today’s lesson: Show a little restraint, people.
6 Responses to “Historical Horrors: Going Too Far with Paint and Trim”
Are those dancing munchkins nailed to the house? Scary. I do like the black house, but the peacock may be a tad too much.
I disagree on the peacock — I think it’s the perfect take on a pink flamingo to accompany the Victorian noir.
However,whomever put the dancing munchkins on the first house played one too many games of candyland. Or is a child molester.
If you think San Fran has some wacky Victorian paint jobs, check out some of the neighborhoods in Portland, OR’s Hawthorne district…
Man, I assumed the peacock was real! I vote two thumbs up on real peacocks, but can’t view fake ones favorably. And, honestly, I really don’t care for an all black exterior. Even a deep blue would be better.
[...] so I know I’ve made fun of the overuse of lattice before, but I can get behind its use on the pool house of the Centrifugal [...]
[...] my love of black paint is well-known. I even took note of “Teakettle Black” paint when Woodrow made fun of it. [...]